Move Up, Earth!

Where will Earth be in a thousand years? Believe it or not, possibly far away from the familiar orbit it has occupied since its beginning 4.5 billion years ago. Why? Because we may actually decide to move it.

There are already scenarios and detailed plans. They were initially thought of for a far-distant future—billions of years, actually—when the Sun swells up, becoming a red giant and engulfing nearer planets such as Mercury. There are a few possible scenarios—some of them showing planets spiraling out instead of being absorbed. What seems certain is that life on Earth the way we used to know it won’t survive—nor will humanity.

NASA has previewed a solution for this undesirable event. A simple one, actually: move the Earth out of the danger zone. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

The principle to make it happen is simple too, and long known in orbital mechanics and astrophysics. It’s called gravity assist, or gravitational slingshot, and it is currently used to help satellites change their trajectory.

In this scenario, in order to move the Earth the object should actually be the size of an asteroid. NASA’s plans explain how it will be possible to actually capture one, and how, in this way, the satellite will be used to affect Earth’s orbit and eventually pull it away from the Sun’s vicinity.

There are also a few variations. NASA included comets that make the scenario increasingly complex. There are other dangers too—for example, the possibility of losing the Moon when moving the Earth. Considering the huge effects of our satellite on our climate this can’t be overlooked.

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

It’s not just the Sun’s evolution that can create issues for Earth’s future. Other apocalyptic scenarios include rogue asteroids with mass sufficient to trigger climate change similar to the doomed dinosaurs 65 million years ago or a near-Earth supernovae explosions (say, at 100 LY of distance). These can make future plans to change Earth’s orbit very relevant.